Photo identification laws and perceptions of electoral fraud

Photo identification (ID) laws are often passed on the premise that they will prevent voter fraud and/or reduce perceptions of electoral fraud. The impact of ID laws on perceptions of electoral fraud remains unsettled and is complicated by widespread confusion about current voting requirements. In the 2017 Virginia election, we fielded an experiment, with an advocacy organization, evaluating the effects of the organization’s outreach campaign. We randomized which registered voters were mailed one of three informational postcards. After the election, we surveyed subjects about electoral integrity and their knowledge about election laws. We find that providing registrants with information on the state’s photo ID requirements is associated with a reduction in perceptions of fraud and increased knowledge about voting requirements.

Judicial activism and the American election process

This article analyses the phenomenon of judicial activism in the American electoral process. It tries to estimate whether the political system of the United States of America has become hostage to the law-making role of the judiciary, which actively controls the compliance of election laws with the Constitution, thus drawing courts into purely political processes, or whether the nature of the disputes settled by judges rather makes it impossible for them to avoid being influenced by and influencing issues of a political nature. The article analyses various legal acts and court decisions, mostly concerning the current status of federal campaign finance in the United States, and demonstrates that more spheres traditionally reserved for other branches of government are being appropriated by the judicial branch.

Voter Purges After Shelby

In Shelby County v. Holder (570 U.S. 529 (2013)), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the “coverage formula” in Section 4b of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) that determined which jurisdictions had to presubmit changes in their election policies for federal approval. This ruling allowed covered counties full control over their election laws for the first time in 40 years. We engage the question of whether counties that had previously been “covered” purged voters at a higher rate than noncovered counties after the coverage formula was struck down. We find increases in purge rate of between 1.5 and 4.5 points in formerly covered jurisdictions post- Shelby, compared with counties that had not been subject to preclearance. Most of the increase came immediately, as the effect in 2014 is substantively and significantly higher than that in 2016. These findings suggest that while counties may have aggressively purged voters in 2014—the first election after the coverage formula’s demise—they may have tempered this behavior thereafter.

The role of media censorship, for television channels in Kurdistan Region

This research, namely (the interaction of political speech among voters in election campaigns), is a significant investigation which serves the election process in ways it discloses the strategy of political speech and its interaction on voters in election campaigns. It determines the implication of politics in raising the voters’ awareness and directing them to practice their rights in electing their active representatives in power. The study focuses on the role of political speech in representing the political issues, strategic plan, communication and campaign. It wants to discuss that political speech has an outstanding factor in succeeding election process under the shadow of the election laws freely and virtuously. Also, it helps obtaining acceptable results to all in a democratic context within the specific timeframe that the campaign gives the opportunity to the political parties in order to participate in election campaigns.

Burden and Standard of Proof in Election Petitions without Criminal Allegations

The burden and standard of proof in election petition without criminal allegation is in tandem with the extant Evidence Act, as election petitions is sui generis. The purpose of election laws is to obtain a correct expression of the intent of the voters. However, this paper argues that whereas proof of election petition without criminal allegations requires proof on the preponderance of evidence, the shallow chant of “he who asserts must prove” in the extant law is a conduit pipe for electoral injustice. This paper therefore makes a clarion call for the amendment of the relevant extant law to usher in a legal regime of burden of proof on the pleadings, where whoever asserts the affirmative or positive must prove on the state of the pleadings. The rebuttable presumption of the regularity of the conduct of elections and declaration of results, no longer serve the end of justice in our electoral process. This paper therefore argues that the Electoral Act be amended to place the burden of proof of the regularity of elections and declaration of results on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to meet the desired justice contemplated in the electoral process.

2000

The 2000 campaigns focused on experimentation with DCTs. Changes in election laws made collecting contributions online feasible, which became a focus of campaigns. John McCain was savvy at capitalizing on fundraising, establishing the infrastructure to channel enthusiasm into money following key events. George W. Bush built a massive voter file for microtargeting. Steve Forbes constructed an image as the first “Internet candidate,” while Al Gore, who also should have done so, instead used DCTs conservatively. Bill Bradley developed a community involvement kit, a clear indication that campaigns began to see the potential of two-step flow. Yet, campaigns were still generally distrustful of what might happen if they let their supporters genuinely engage with the campaign. As hierarchical organizations with professional and highly paid senior staff who at their gut level—and through their experience know how to campaign—the idea of more citizen-driven efforts in political campaigns was unthinkable.